Nominis podcast – episode 074: the status of Shopify in Croatia
In Nominis episode 074, Matko Antun Bekavac from Hero Factory discussed the state of Shopify in Croatia. He highlited Shopify’s cloud-based service model, highlighting its security and ease of use.
In the new episode of Nominis podcast which we are producing in partnership with the Association of eCommerce Croatia, we spoke to Matko Antun Bekavac, the founder of the Shopify Croatia Facebook group and a web developer at Hero Factory. He explained that Shopify is a cloud-based platform as a service, priced at $35 per month, which includes hosting, backup, and support, marking a significant strength of Shopify, along with the security it offers. He emphasized that the platform records significantly fewer vulnerabilities and incidents compared to other platforms, and mentioned that in Croatia and Europe, Shopify is less popular than in America or Australia, primarily because the current European regulations are not conducive, making these markets not a focus for Shopify.
In the Shopify Croatia Facebook group, merchants mainly complain about the 2% fee due to not using the Shopify Payment system, which Matko believes is unfair since it’s not the merchants’ fault it’s not available in our market, yet they have to pay the penalty. On the positive side, he mentioned Shopify’s excellent marketing as it natively integrates with TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Additionally, there’s a Shopify starter package that only includes backend, enabling sales through Facebook and Messenger. For investment value, Matko noted that with a brand book and product descriptions, a decent webshop can be developed for 1,000 – 2,000 euros.
Shopify is ideal for those just starting in eCommerce, who don’t have the money for a developer, lack the resources or time to research the market, and want something that works right out of the box.
Matko mentioned the increasingly popular headless approach, especially for larger shops. This means the shop’s hosting is done on the Shopify platform without using Shopify themes, but instead, developers are hired to create a custom shop with all custom functionalities based on the client’s chosen technology. In the background, there’s a verified solution that is secure and typically integrates with ERP systems.
You can check the video recording of Nominis 074 on the official YouTube channel of eCommerce Croatia.
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